The state of Georgia has long been recognized for having shaped the fabric of American music. Where would gospel be without Villa Rica's Dr. Thomas Dorsey or soul without Albany's Ray Charles or rock-n-roll without Macon's Little Richard or country without Lithonia's Brenda Lee? It's not just the superstars, however, who have put Georgia on the map. The state has also produced a line of entrepreneurs whose talent, chutzpah and "no holds barred" spirit have pioneered a competitive and globally influential music industry.

It could be argued that one of the earliest movers and shakers in Georgia's music industry was none other than John Carson, a mill worker, farmer, railroad hand and fiddling champion born near Blue Ridge, Ga., in 1868. In 1922, he strode into the one-week old WSB radio station in Atlanta and talked station manager Lambdin Kay into letting him play live on the air, a stunt that he managed to turn into a regular gig. His subsequent radio popularity led to Okeh Records talent scout Ralph Peer traveling from New York to Georgia to record Carson on June 14, 1923. Although Peer declared the session "pluperful awful," he agreed to press 500 copies for local record salesman Polk Brockman. At a fiddling convention in Atlanta one month later, Carson played the phonograph onstage, and he and Brockman sold all 500 copies right then and there. Peer quickly changed his tune, and Carson eventually recorded over 150 sides for Okeh, establishing himself as one of the very first stars of country music. In the '50s and '60s, the legendary Bill Lowery built a music publishing empire that paved the way for Atlanta's role as an industry player among the more established markets.

A popular radio announcer at WQXI, then WGST, he founded Lowery Music Company in 1952, and had his first million seller in 1956 with "Be-Bop-a-Lula," the Gene Vincent hit. The Lowery stable of artists grew to include Ray Stevens, Brenda Lee, Joe South, Tommy Roe, Freddy Weller, Billy Joe Royal, Buddy Buie, J.R. Cobb, Robert Nix, Dennis Yost, the Classics IV, the Atlanta Rhythm Section and many more. Award-winning songs published by Lowery include "Traces," "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden," "Spooky," "Key Largo," "Games People Play" and hundreds more.

Esteemed Atlanta entertainment attorney Joel Katz, of Greenberg Traurig LLP, explains, "(Lowery) was firstly a publisher, giving a chance to very young and very inexperienced songwriters in the Atlanta, Ga., and Southeastern region to have a place to go to have their material listened to and critiqued and reviewed, and he spawned an industry."

The Lowery Music catalog was sold to Sony in 1999, and Lowery passed away in 2004. However, his legacy continues with Bill Lowery Music, a new publishing company headed by his son, Butch; Southern Tracks, the recording studio he founded; and the Bill Lowery Foundation for the future of music education in Georgia. As Butch Lowery said, "The industry in Atlanta has grown up so much and he was a big leader. They said you couldn't do it outside of New York or L.A., and he said, 'Yes, we can,' and he did it."

In the '60s and '70s, Macon also jumped into the picture as a music city. Its native son, Little Richard Penniman, had risen from a job washing dishes at the local bus station to the top of the charts in 1955 with his first hit, "Tutti Frutti." Later that same year, the Flames, a group led by Bobby Byrd, recorded "Please, Please, Please" at Macon's WIBB radio. The song, featuring the impassioned vocals of a young James Brown, caught the attention of King Records, who signed the group immediately and kick-started Brown's now 50-year career.

The previous decade, another Macon singer, Otis Redding, reached international acclaim with songs like "Mr. Pitiful," "I've Been Loving You Too Long," "Try a Little Tenderness" and "Respect," all on the Stax/Volt label. With a keen sense for business, Redding formed his own music publishing company, Redwal Music, with Phil Walden, his manager, partner and friend, and his own record label, Jotis. He produced and released an album by his protŽgŽ, Arthur Conley, and in June of 1967, Conley's single, "Sweet Soul Music," climbed to #17 on Billboard's pop chart and #9 on the R&B chart. Just five months later, on Dec. 10, Redding was only 26 years old when a plane crash in Madison, Wis., claimed his life.

After Redding's death, Phil Walden founded Capricorn Records in Macon and signed the Allman Brothers Band. He added the Marshall Tucker Band, Wet Willie, Elvin Bishop and the Dixie Dregs, assembling a meaty roster of hugely talented rock bands from the South. Although Capricorn no longer exists today, Southern Rock remains popular, with The Allman Brothers Band annually selling out ten-night stands at New York's Beacon Theatre and new bands like Athens' Drive-By Truckers proudly carrying the torch.

The early '90s saw three young Georgia artists, Alan Jackson of Newnan, Travis Tritt of Marietta and Trisha Yearwood of Monticello, experience a meteoric rise in country music. Fifteen years later, they are still respected and hugely successful artists. In a deal with RCA, Jackson recently started his own label, ACR (Alan's Country Records) and signed his nephew, Adam Wright, also of Newnan, and his wife, Shannon, a graduate of Georgia Southern in Statesboro. The debut album by the The Wrights was released in spring 2005 to strong reviews.

Also in the early '90s, two songwriters, artists and GRAMMY¨-winning producers, Antonio "L.A." Reid and Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, were quickly building an empire in Atlanta with LaFace Records, a joint venture with Arista. The label's quick and phenomenal success earned Reid a reputation as a visionary who recognized the star potential in artists he signed, including TLC, Toni Braxton, OutKast, Goodie Mob and Usher.

LaFace enjoyed 33 #1 records before Reid and Edmonds sold their share to Arista's parent company, BMG, in 2000, and the Buckhead office closed. The label is now part of the Zomba Records conglomerate and home to multi-platinum Atlanta artists Usher, OutKast and TLC, as well as one of the city's hottest new artists, Ciara. Reid now serves as chairman of Def Jam Music Group and Edmonds, based in Los Angeles, released his first solo album in four years in late summer 2005.

Two young producers who worked with LaFace early in their careers, Jermaine Dupri and Dallas Austin, both quickly gained respect as multi-tasking moguls. Like L. A. Reid, Dupri, a rapper, producer, songwriter and record executive, is a visionary with a proven ability to identify and develop talent. He produced his first charting record at 14, discovered and produced platinum-selling act Kris Kross at 19 and founded his own label, So So Def Records, at barely 20 years old. The label's artists, including Bow Wow, Da Brat, Jagged Edge and Xscape, have earned more than 20 platinum and gold records. As a songwriter and producer, Dupri has put his Midas touch on releases by Usher, Alicia Keys, TLC, Jay-Z and Ludacris.

Dupri never slows down, as a tiny list of his accomplishments in 2005 so far will attest. He and Mariah Carey co-produced her comeback single, "We Belong Together," and it stands as the second longest-running #1 song of her career. In April 2005, Dupri was named President of Urban Music for Virgin Records, which now also distributes So So Def. Fiercely loyal to Atlanta, Dupri agreed to produce the urban stage at June's Music Midtown festival, about the same time his single, "Gotta Getcha," featuring Johnta Austin, began climbing the charts, while the video, featuring his girlfriend Janet Jackson, entered heavy rotation at BET. In July, he opened his first restaurant, CafŽ Dupri, in Buckhead.

Dallas Austin, songwriter, keyboardist, guitarist and Columbus, Ga., native includes among his many production credits TLC, Gwen Stefani, Madonna, Boyz II Men and Michael Jackson and he bases his Rowdy Records and Rowdy Films in Atlanta. Rowdy Records' most recent release, the soundtrack to Diary of a Mad Black Woman, is set to be followed with albums by Atlanta rock trio, Dropsonic, and Decatur rappers, Da Back. In July, Austin was conscripted to write, produce and record the new Brand Atlanta Campaign anthem, as part of Mayor Shirley Franklin's New Century Economic Development Plan.

Signaling an even widening connection between Georgia's music and film industries, Austin executive produced the popular movie, Drumline (2002) and production has begun in Atlanta on his latest project, the untitled, Chris Robinson-directed feature based on a roller rink where he, TLC's Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, Ludacris, Lil Jon and others used to hang together. Austin mentioned the importance of those relationships in 2004, when he told Sonia Murray of the Atlanta Journal Constitution, "I think that's the difference between us and New York and [Los Angeles]. There's no real communities in those places. There's still a certain bond between all of us because we grew up together. It's like a high school. And I'm kind of sitting back looking at the new class of Lil Jons and everybody, like proud alumni."

The presence of childhood friendships does seem to be prevalent in the current artistic and business relationships of many of Atlanta's top acts. Andre Benjamin and Antwan "Big Boi" Patton, the duo known 'round the world as OutKast, attended Tri Cities High School together. Big Boi just founded his own Atlanta-based Purple Ribbon/Virgin record label. The GRAMMY¨-winning duo have sold over 20 million copies of their six releases, with a new album out this fall and an HBO movie expected in January.

Eric "Kaine" Jackson and D'eongelo "D-Roc" Holmes, a.k.a The Ying Yang Twins, met in East Atlanta when they were both 16. In summer 2005, the rap duo's fourth full-length release, USA: United State of Atlanta, on New York-based indie TVT Records, received overwhelming critical reviews, the #1 spot on Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop chart and #2 on the Top 200 Albums chart.

Lil Jon, Vince Phillips, Emperor Searcy and Rob McDowell formed tight bonds at South West Middle School in Atlanta, and the foursome established BME Recordings in their hometown in the early 1990s. The label produced "Kings of Crunk," the platinum-selling album by Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz and the group's gold album, "Put Yo Hood Up." The expanding roster includes Trillville, Lil Scrappy, Oobie and Chyna White.

Childhood friends Amy Ray and Emily Saliers met one another at Laurel Ridge Elementary School in DeKalb County and began performing together in the '80s. In 1989, they came to prominence as the Indigo Girls, yet with the international success they experienced, both chose to remain and invest in Atlanta. Saliers is a partner in the acclaimed restaurants, Watershed and the Flying Biscuit CafŽ. In 1990, Ray formed Daemon Records as a non-profit label and an alternative to the traditional corporate rock label. In the past 15 years, she has released albums by dozens of artists including Lift, Moto Litas, James Hall, Danielle Howle & the Tantrums and even her own two solo efforts.

One of the newest kids on the block, Brash Music was established in Atlanta in 2003 by Mike McQuary and Ed Douglas, who although they weren't childhood friends, had sat side-by-side at MindSpring from the early garage days of the company through the merger with Earthlink. Brash's diverse roster includes Savannah-born soul singer/songwriter Anthony David, Duluth-based worship artist Aaron Shust and Taylor Hollingsworth, a blues/rocker from Alabama. Like Dallas Austin, Ed Douglas believes one of the benefits of the music business in Georgia is its sense of community. "The Atlanta music scene is very strong, everybody kind of knows each other, and everybody that knows each other, knows somebody else," he said.

Smaller, but equally tight-knit scenes thrive in other Georgia communities. The New York Times called Athens "Live Music Central" and Rolling Stone Magazine named it the #1 College Music Scene in America. The Bohemian college town that launched the careers of the B52s and R.E.M. in the early eighties, is today home to hundreds of bands and at least 25 indie labels, including: Pitch-a-Tent Records, run by Velena Vego of the world-famous 40 Watt Club and David Lowery of Cracker; Ghostmeat Records, which annually releases the AthFest compilation, the companion to the annual summer music festival; and even, Orange Twin Records, which under the guidance of Laura Carter and Andrew Riegert of Elf Power not only releases albums by artists like Jack Logan and Jeff Mangum, but also raises funds for land preservation and sustainable development. In Columbus, owners of The Loft, a popular live music venue and longtime supporters of new artists, just established The Loft Records and The Loft Recording Studio. Savannah enjoys a creative music enclave, spurred by the presence of the Savannah College of Art and Design and the internationally recognized Savannah Music Festival.

Upcoming artists in Georgia find resources and showcasing opportunities at the Atlantis Music Conference and Festival. Held annually in August, the conference, a premier event in the Southeast, has attracted thousands of musicians and professionals to Atlanta to participate. Mark Willis, who co-founded the conference in 1998, said, "I find it thrilling to look at Los Lonely Boys and Maroon 5 and John Mayer, knowing that all those artists played Atlantis as unsigned, available talent."

Willis also holds the seat of 1st Vice President of the Board of Governors for the Atlanta Chapter of the Recording Academy. While the national organization produces the GRAMMYS¨, the Atlanta Chapter, through the leadership of Senior Executive Director Michele Rhea Caplinger, actively addresses the region's needs, providing education, advocacy, professional development and networking opportunities, while producing events like the prestigious Heroes Awards in April.

Jan Smith serves as President of the Board of Governors for the Atlanta Chapter. An Atlanta-born singer, songwriter and vocal producer and instructor, her client list is a virtual who's who of vocalists, including Usher, Rob Thomas, Young Jeezy, India.Arie, Sugarland, Diana DeGarmo, Ciara, members of Collective Soul, Injected, Sevendust, Rehab and many, many more. Smith has seen Atlanta's industry grow over the past 20 years and remains one of its strongest cheerleaders. She said, "As a business woman in the music industry and owning a nationally recognized vocal coaching and artist development facility, Atlanta has continued to be my base for operations because it is easily accessible nationwide with an international airport, there is a plethora of fabulous dining establishments and hotels for out of town guests, entertainment is all over the city and there's no place like home!"

According to a Mix magazine article last year, there's also no place like Atlanta for recording. Strother Bullins profiled the scene and several studios including Ruby Red Recordings, the studio owned by Butch Walker, the songwriter, artist and engineer who has produced Avril Lavigne, Bowling for Soup and The Donnas, among others. Southern Tracks (founded by Bill Lowery) is recognized for its A-list of artists including Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Black Crowes and Aerosmith, all of whom recorded there with rock producer Brendan O'Brien at the helm.

The article also highlighted Atlanta's multi-genre facilities like Tree Sound and ZAC Recording, while noting private production facilities including Jermaine Dupri's Southside Studios, OutKast's Stankonia Recording and Dallas Austin's D.A.R.P. Studios. Dozens more studios, large and small, thrive in the city.

Recognizing the scope and breadth of Georgia's music industry the Georgia Film, Video & Music Office, a division of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, commissioned an economic impact study from Georgia State University. The results were not surprising. The study estimated the total annual economic impact of Georgia's music industry at $989.5 million, with approximately $1.9 million in gross sales. It also estimated that the industry supports 8,943 jobs, both direct and indirectly, and generates $94.7 million in tax revenues annually.

"People are sometimes surprised to hear that our Film, Video & Music Office is housed within our department," Commissioner Craig Lesser of the Department of Economic Development says. "But the numbers clearly show how important these industries are to Georgia's economy. Our mission is help those in the industry connect to the resources here in the state. We have assembled a great team that works hard every day to promote Georgia to those in the different entertainment disciplines."

Georgia is truly a melting pot of styles, personalities, talents and opportunities. Over the past eight decades, since Fiddlin' John Carson first commandeered the microphone at WSB, Georgia's music industry has grown from humble roots into one of the cosmopolitan, diverse and promising scenes in the world. As Ray Stevens of Clarkdale, Ga., once sang, "Everything is Beautiful."

Alan Jackson to Allman Brothers Band
B-52's to Black Crowes
Ciara to Cee-lo
drivin' n' cryin' to Drive-By Truckers
Elf Power to Tinsley Ellis
Five-Eight to Forty-Watt
Gladys Knight to Gram Parsons
The Hiss to hope for agoldensummer
Indigo Girls to India.Arie
JB to JD (James Brown to Jermaine Dupri)
King Johnson to Kingsized
Little Richard to Lil Jon
Johnny Mercer to Magnapop
Norma Jean to Normaltown Flyers
Otis Redding to OutKast
Dottie Peoples to Peabo Bryson
Rodeo Queen to The Quiet
Ray Charles to Ray Stevens
Sugarland to S.O.S. Band
TLC to R.E.M.
Usher to Ludacris
Vic Chesnutt to Vigilantes of Love
Widespread Panic to Butch Walker
Xscape to Bubba Sparxxx
Trisha Yearwood to Ying Yang Twins
Young Jeezy to Jazze Pha